I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9270 

To establish a grant program within the Department of Labor to support 

the creation, implementation, and expansion of registered apprenticeship 

programs in cybersecurity. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 2, 2024 

Ms. LEE of Nevada (for herself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce 

A BILL 

To establish a grant program within the Department of 

Labor to support the creation, implementation, and expansion of registered apprenticeship programs in cybersecurity. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cyber Ready Work5 force Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) According to projections from Georgetown 

2 University’s Center on Education and the Work3 force, the United States was already set to experi4 ence a shortage of 5,000,000 workers with postsec5 ondary education or training, including training 

6 leading to vocational certificates and apprenticeship 

7 training, by 2020. The COVID–19 pandemic has 

8 only exacerbated this problem. 

9 (2) Registered apprenticeships strengthen the 

10 Nation’s economy, create pathways to good-paying 

11 careers, and help meet the Nation’s current work12 force demands. 

13 (3) Apprenticeships can help fill the Nation’s 

14 workforce needs, including in fields not traditionally 

15 linked to apprenticeships, such as cybersecurity. 

16 (4) The cybersecurity field has a severe short17 age in talent, with over 597,000 job openings today, 

18 according to CyberSeek, an interactive cybersecurity 

19 jobs heat map funded by the Department of Com20 merce’s National Institute of Standards and Tech21 nology (NIST). 

22 (5) Employers, especially in cybersecurity and 

23 information technology fields, may be unfamiliar 

24 with the apprenticeship model or do not have the caVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Sep 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9270.IH H9270

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1 pacity or resources to develop and implement their 

2 own training. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 

6 The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship program’’ 

7 means a program registered under the Act of Au8 gust 16, 1937 (commonly known as the ‘‘National 

9 Apprenticeship Act’’; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 

10 (2) WORKFORCE INTERMEDIARY.—The term 

11 ‘‘workforce intermediary’’ means an entity that fa12 cilitates the establishment of registered apprentice13 ship programs, and may be a partnership that in14 cludes one or more of the following as partners: 

15 (A) A business or industry organization. 

16 (B) A community-based organization, as 

17 defined in section 3201(5) of the Elementary 

18 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

19 U.S.C. 7801(5)). 

20 (C) A State board or local board, as such 

21 terms are defined in section 3 of the Workforce 

22 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

23 3102). 


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1 (D) A postsecondary education institution 

2 with experience in developing and administering 

3 registered apprenticeship programs. 

4 (E) A joint labor-management partnership. 

5 (F) An institution of higher education, as 

6 defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Edu7 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

8 (G) A nonprofit organization. 

9 SEC. 4. CYBERSECURITY APPRENTICESHIP GRANT PRO10 GRAM. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

12 award grants, on a competitive basis, to workforce inter13 mediaries, to support the establishment, implementation, 

14 and expansion of registered apprenticeship programs in 

15 cybersecurity. 

16 (b) DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAMS ELIGIBLE.—For 

17 purposes of subsection (a), registered apprenticeship pro18 grams in cybersecurity shall include technical instruction, 

19 workplace training, and industry-recognized certification 

20 in cybersecurity. Programs shall— 

21 (1) include certifications in CompTIA 

22 Network+, CompTIA A+, CompTIA Security+, 

23 Microsoft Windows 10 Technician, Microsoft Cer24 tified System Administrator, Certified Network De25 fender, Certified Ethical Hacker, ISACA CybersecuVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Sep 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9270.IH H9270

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rity Nexus (CSX), (ISC)2 1 ’s Certified Information 

2 Systems Security Professional (CISSP), or other in3 dustry-recognized certification in cybersecurity; 

4 (2) encourage stackable and portable creden5 tials; and 

6 (3) lead to occupations such as computer sup7 port specialists, cybersecurity support technicians, 

8 cloud computing architects, computer programmers, 

9 computer systems analysts, or security specialists. 

10 SEC. 5. USE OF FUNDS. 

11 (a) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—A workforce inter12 mediary shall use at least 85 percent of the amount of 

13 grant funds received under this Act for the following: 

14 (1) DEVELOPMENT AND TECHNICAL SUP15 PORT.—Complete the apprenticeship registration 

16 process with the Department of Labor, and assist 

17 employers with other logistical and technical issues. 

18 (2) EMPLOYER PARTNERSHIP.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Develop curricula and 

20 technical instruction for the registered appren21 ticeship program in cooperation with local busi22 nesses, organizations, and employer-partners, 

23 referencing the work roles and tasks outlined in 

24 the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Edu25 cation (NICE) Cybersecurity Workforce FrameVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Sep 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9270.IH H9270

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1 work Special Publication 800–181 to develop 

2 skills and standards for the program. 

3 (B) OFFSITE TRAINING.—Assist employers 

4 in paying for the cost of offsite training and ac5 quiring course materials provided to appren6 tices. 

7 (C) CONNECTING EMPLOYERS.—Connect 

8 employers with education and training providers 

9 to complement on-the-job learning. 

10 (3) SUPPORT SERVICES FOR APPRENTICES.— 

11 Provide support services to apprentices to assist with 

12 their success in the registered apprenticeship pro13 gram, which may include the following: 

14 (A) Career counseling. 

15 (B) Mentorship. 

16 (C) Assisting with costs of transportation, 

17 housing, and child care services. 

18 (b) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.—A workforce inter19 mediary may use up to 15 percent of the amount of grant 

20 funds received under this Act for the following outreach 

21 and marketing activities: 

22 (1) Market apprenticeships and the apprentice23 ship model to employers, secondary school adminis24 trators, and counselors. 


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1 (2) Recruit and conduct outreach to potential 

2 apprentices, including secondary school students, 

3 underrepresented populations (such as women and 

4 minorities), youth, and veterans. 

5 (3) Connect and collaborate with other work6 force intermediaries, and coordinate resources with 

7 Federal investments in the registered apprenticeship 

8 program, to— 

9 (A) minimize the duplication of efforts; 

10 (B) share best practices; and 

11 (C) widely disseminate training resources 

12 and materials developed with grant funds pro13 vided under this Act. 

14 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 There is authorized to be appropriated, such sums 

16 as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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